chicken , Barbecue Sauce , Smoked Gouda , Cheese
Best for: The backyard classic — smoky sauce, grilled chicken, and red onion on a stone-crisped crust.
BBQ chicken pizza was born for the grill: the chicken cooks over the same fire, the barbecue sauce stands in for tomato, and smoked Gouda melts into the sweet sauce like they were made for each other. A screaming-hot pizza stone gives the crust its char while the lid traps the heat that melts the top.
Grill: Pizza stone on a covered grill at 500–550°F. Equipment: Pizza stone, grill with a lid, metal peel, tongs, instant-read thermometer.
Ingredients
Rest: 5 minutes. Total: 47 minutes.
Chicken
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fine table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Pizza
- 1 lb pizza dough (homemade grilled pizza dough or store-bought), at room temperature
- 3/4 cup barbecue sauce, divided
- 1 1/2 cups shredded smoked Gouda
- 1 cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal or flour, for the peel
Directions
Set the pizza stone on the grate and heat the covered grill to 500–550°F; give the stone a full 30 minutes to get properly hot. Rub the chicken with the olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Grill the chicken over direct heat for 5–6 minutes per side, until it reaches 165°F at the thickest part. Rest it for 5 minutes, then chop it into bite-size pieces and toss with 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce.
Stretch the dough into a 12-inch round on a peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce over it, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
Scatter the Gouda and mozzarella over the sauce, then the sauced chicken and the red onion slices.
Launch the pizza onto the hot stone and grill with the lid closed for 8–10 minutes, until the crust is charred at the edges and the cheese is bubbling and spotted brown.
Rest the pizza for 5 minutes. Scatter the cilantro over the top, slice, and serve with extra barbecue sauce at the table.
Grilling tip: Tossing the chopped chicken in sauce before it goes on keeps it juicy through the stone’s high heat — dry chicken is this pizza’s only real enemy.
